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My Cabinet of Curiosities; Henrietta Barnett, John Lennon and the Grey Cat of...
Dame Henrietta BarnettHenrietta Barnett was one of those formidable late Victorian/Edwardian dames who set out to change the world. Along with her husband, she set up a 'settlement' in Whitechapel in...
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December Competition
To win one of five copies of Rhian Ivory's The Boy who Drew the Furture, answer this question in the Comments below:"Have you ever visited a place and experienced déjà vu or seen or heard something you...
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Looking backwards and forwards by Mary Hoffman
Since I have the first-of-the-month position in which to write History Girls posts, I can take the opportunity to wish all our Followers a very happy and fulfilling 2016.And I can, Janus-like, look...
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Researching 1682 - Gillian Polack
My New Year’s resolution is about a novel. It’s is set in 1682, in England and France and is due with my publisher in 2017. It will take me that long to write because it’s a very historical novel and...
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Fast before you feast, by Vanora Bennett
My grandmother used to say indulgently that there was no harm in twelve mince pies a year, one for each of the twelve days of Christmas. This year I’ve way exceeded my quota, as I’m afraid I do most...
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The Ballad of Mulan, a history girl of note - by Katherine Langrish
I've always liked Arthur Waley's translations of Chinese literature and poetry, and I came across this one recently in an old edition I found in a second-hand bookshop. It was exciting to find a source...
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Where and When? - Joan Lennon
Here's a little light relief in the dreich days of what may feel to some of us like Flanders and Swann's "bloody January again". It's a quiz: can you guess the place and the date for the 3 summery...
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THE MASTERY OF KNACK by Lydia Syson
Twelfth night is over, the last sprig of desiccated ivy has been twitched away, and pavements are filling up with fir trees, propped up at dejected angles. Time now, if you are so inclined, to turn to...
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A VISIT TO THE CUTTY SARK by Adèle Geras
It was my friend Sally Prue who suggested the visit, bought the tickets, fixed the time, looked up the trains etc and was in charge of all the practical arrangements. So a huge thank you is due to...
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'Killing the Worm that Gnaws at the Tooth' by Karen Maitland
This is the time of year when dentist surgeries are filled with emergency patients with missing crowns and broken teeth from those seasonal nuts and the sixpences granny puts in her Christmas pudding....
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The Mystery of Virgil's Camilla by Caroline Lawrence
A few years ago I took a City Lit class to revive my Latin and we read Virgil’s Aeneid book 9, which includes the story of the so-called Night Raid by two young Trojan warriors, Nisus and Euryalus....
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Tweet of the Day – Michelle Lovric
I don’t do social media. But my cats and I are great fans of Radio 4’s Tweet of the Day.We have our different reasons.The cats twitch their tails and lick their lips at the sound of birdsong....
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Things That Go Bump In The Night by Katherine Clements
As I settle down to pen my first History Girls post, I’m watching a neighbor tussling with the naked, bedraggled Christmas tree that, for the last few weeks, has stood, bedecked and glittering, at her...
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Stig and Me by Tanya Landman
Books can be transporting. They can carry you into someone else’s head and allow you to see other lives, other ways of being. They can show you different countries, strange worlds, alien planets....
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NEW HISTORICAL FICTION for Spring 2016 – Elizabeth Fremantle
A selection of historical titles to look forward to in the coming months: THE QUEEN'S CHOICE– Anne O'Brien (Mira, Jan 14th)One Question. Two paths. A choice that will...
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Another Great Pretender - Grey Owl Catherine Johnson
Look at this chap, all rugged and craggy faced with his long hair, grim set mouth and serious eyes. It's of a man called Grey Owl, taken at the height of his international fame in 1936. What was he...
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Interview with Mackenzi Lee, by Y S Lee
For those who haven’t yet had the joy of reading This Monstrous Thing, Mackenzi Lee's debut novel is a re-imagining of the Frankenstein story set around the 1818 publication of Mary Shelley’s...
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About 'Caleb's Crossing', by Geraldine Brooks: Sue Purkiss
Caleb's Crossing was published in 2011, but I've only just come across it. I think it's remarkable, in a number of ways.It's based on the few facts that are known about a young man from Martha's...
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THUNDERBALLS, SNOWDROPS AND FURS by Penny Dolan
Today my desk and room are covered in papers, print-outs and receipts, various. As I’m sure you have guessed, I am in the middle – or maybe almost at the end – of preparing my tax returns. So the post...
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The Right to Write by Elizabeth Laird
There's been a lot of chatter lately about "cultural appropriation". The term doesn't refer to the natural take-up of one group's culture by others who live in proximity, when such markers as cuisine,...
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